Who I Am
by writerlester
Summary: After a surprise meeting with none other than the famed Chat Noir one evening, Marinette suddenly finds her life turned upside down with constant visits from a friendly feline & getting to know the man behind the mask. With everything from silliness to serious talks, she goes through it all with her new catty companion. Multichaptered MariChat fic. Rated for a certain cat's mouth.
1. Communicating with a Cat

Something was wrong.

She could feel it, you could say. Something was off, and Marinette could tell. It was like a bad premonition, only something had already happened.

It worried her.

She paced around her room, unsettled. She had her computer on and blaring the live news, but nothing was happening. No akumas were to be found. Hawkmoth wasn't attacking. It was a normal night.

But Marinette knew it wasn't.  
She glanced at Tiki. The kwami was asleep, sleeping off a long day from yesterday. They'd faced three akumas, all in one day. The second one had been particularly challenging. Marinette made a mental note to start carrying cookies regularly.

Unsettled and still nervous, she walked out onto the balcony to breath in the night air. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled and felt herself relax a little.

Then she heard a noise.

Turning her head, she zeroed in on a figure sitting on a roof about three houses away. She couldn't tell anything about the person other than where they were sitting. Marinette tensed and listened intently. Was it normal for a person to sit on their roof?

Then she heard the noise again. It was a long, deep sigh. A sad sigh. It made her feel an immediate rush of sympathy.

Marinette stood. Whoever they were, they were sad, and they could use some freshly baked cupcakes. There were plenty downstairs.

After carefully arranging several in a small basket, she leapt up to her own roof. Being Ladybug had given her some practice leaping from roof to roof, but she still wasn't very confident when she wasn't transformed. However, she still managed to leap her way across the rooftops to the sitting figure. She squinted, but they must've been wearing all black, because she couldn't make them out in the dark. She suddenly felt qualms.

"Um. Excuse me."

The figure turned faster than she expected, causing her to take a nervous step back. "Uh. I saw you from my roof...and. Uh. I was just wondering why you're up here."

"Mar-" the figure stopped, seeming to size her up. "You."

She suddenly got a full view of his face when he stood. "You!"

It was Chat Noir.

Marinette felt her face flush. _You're not Ladybug_ , she reminded herself. _Act natural._

"Wow, a superhero!" She exclaimed halfheartedly. "I can't believe it."

To her surprise, he didn't even crack a cat pun or try to flirt. "Yeah. Pretty great." He slumped back into a sitting position.

She swallowed. "Are...are you okay?"

He squinted at her. "Your name is…?"

"Marinette."

"Right." He was quiet for a moment. "Sorry, I just…"

Making a decision, Marinette plunked down next to Chat, setting the basket down between them with a firm _pap_. "Don't talk," she commanded. "I can tell you don't want to. And you don't have to. I just thought you'd like a cupcake."

Chat looked shocked, and she had to squelch a sarcastic comment about his facial expression. Finally, his face melted back into that familiar catlike grin. "Don't mind if I do, Princess."

"Princess?" She scoffed.

He grabbed a chocolate cupcake. "It suits you."

"Chocolate isn't good for cats, kitty."

He actually _purred_ at her. "Yes, give me a nickname, please."

She threw her cupcake wrapper at him.

They sat in a comfortable almost-silence for a time, only interrupted by the crinkling of wrappers and soft chewing of pastries. After a while, though, all the cupcakes were gone and all that was left was an empty basket.

Marinette almost jumped when she felt a soft hand brush her cheek. "Thank you, Princess. I feel better already."

She swatted his hand away good-naturedly. "You ate like ten of my cupcakes. How did you eat so many?"

"You're a good cook." It sounded like a genuine compliment, and Marinette felt her ears go red.

"Shut up, kitty. Anyway, why were you up here in the first place?"

He withdrew his hand, suddenly quieting. "Well...as crazy as this seems to you, Princess, I have a secret identity, and sometimes that life can be more overwhelming than my superhero one."

Marinette's pulse quickened, but she somehow kept her face neutral. "Really?"

"Yeah." he sat back. "See, my dad's pretty tough on me. He expects a lot from me and wants me to fit in his mold, y'know? He's super strict. I know he means well, but…" Chat shrugged. "Sometimes I want to be the person I am with the mask on all the time. Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

Marinette stared at him. Before she could think twice, she blurted: "But the mask hides who you actually are so you don't _have_ to think about the person behind the mask!"

She wished her mouth was stapled shut.

Chat laughed humorlessly. "You don't understand. I can be myself with the mask on. No one knows who I am, so I can be me, and people recognize that person as Chat Noir. No one can control Chat Noir." He turned to her, his green gaze intense. "But when I'm the person behind the mask, I have expectations. Responsibilities. People to obey. I have to do as I'm expected and say what's expected...not what I want. I'm not me."

"Why?" she asked.

He blinked. "What?"

"Why can't you be yourself? I mean, I know you said your dad's strict, but isn't it better to be yourself if that's what makes you happy? Wouldn't your dad want you to be yourself and be happy?"

Chat studied her for a second. He'd never looked at Marinette this closely before, either as Adrien or Chat. He'd never talked to her like this, either. He honestly couldn't believe he was discussing his personal life with Marinette, of all people...as Chat Noir.

"Chat? Are you okay? You look funny. We can stop talking about this, if you want," Marinette's worried voice brought him back to the present. "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

He found his hand moving on its own, and it took Marinette's and squeezed it. "No...thank you, for listening, Princess."

She looked shocked at first, and then grinned at him. "Course. Why wouldn't I help a stray kitty?"

"You know what they say about stray cats, though," Chat replied mischievously. "They always come back after you feed them."

Marinette's eyebrow lifted. "Oh?"

"Expect to see me a lot more, Princess," he said just as his ring beeped. He released her hand and leapt up. "I'll see you soon." He winked as he swung off.

As he left he glanced down at his palm. His hand still felt warm from where she'd held it. He grinned. _Marinette will be receiving a lot more visits from Chat Noir. Whether she likes it or not._

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 **Hey everyone! I'm going to try and start a multichaptered MariChat fic. I'm a sucker for Marichat, as you can probably tell. This chapter was really just an introduction, a way for the characters to meet and the yarn ball to start rolling (so Chat can catch it).**

 **Marinette is by far one of the most lovable characters I've seen lately, and Adrien is the most complex and interesting. I'll enjoy delving into his head.**

 **Please leave me a review to tell me what you think. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can!**

 **Bye now.**


	2. Cooperating with a Cat

She was sprinting down the street.

"I can't believe I overslept!" Marinette lamented as she continued her pursuit to the park. "Alya is going to kill me. She was so excited for this party, too! I hope I'm not too late…"

Coming to a stop, Marinette assessed the situation. Her classmate and best friend, Alya, was chatting to a frazzled-looking lady with a clipboard. Spotting Marinette, she said something to the lady and marched over.

"Where have you been?!" Alya demanded, grabbing Marinette's arm and lugging her over to the tables. "Mom'll be here any minute, and we need your artistic talent! Now get to work on making it look pretty!"

"You got it, Alya," Marinette laughed, seeing how everyone was hurrying around, obeying her friend's instructions. Most of the people here were Alya's family or friends of Alya's mom, so she didn't recognize them.

Alya marched off toward the decorating group, and Marinette got to work arranging the food on the tables so they looked appealing. She had an eye for making things pleasing to look at, and that's what pleased Alya.

Midway through her work, she heard a faint rustling coming from somewhere. She looked around and spotted a young boy slouching under the tree nearby. He looked upset.

"I wonder what's wrong with that little boy?" Marinette commented to Tikki, who was hiding in her purse.

"He looks more worried about something, or disappointed in himself," Tikki whispered. "Maybe you should go talk to him."

Finishing the food preparation, Marinette dusted off her hands and started walking towards the boy. Seeing her approach, he jumped up, looking nervous.

She stopped. Something seemed wrong.

A flash of darkness suddenly enveloped the boy, and Marinette gasped. She could hear a couple shrieks and gasps behind her, as well.

"Felix!" she heard Alya cry. But it wasn't the little boy anymore.

Instead, there was a formidable-looking boy wearing a black and red outfit. His eyes were narrowed, and a smile played on his face.

"I'm always belittled because I'm the youngest!" he cried, lifting an action figure and pointing it at the crowd. "I'm always told, 'Go sit and wait for the grown-ups to finish the important stuff! You're just a kid!' Well, no more! From now on...Colossal will be bigger than all of you!"

He pointed the action figure at the clipboard lady, and a shot of light fired, hitting her. As it did, she began to shrink smaller and smaller until she was roughly the size of a Barbie doll, or an action figure.

Panic ensued, with people trying to run away. Marinette looked around for a place to transform, but the park was literally overrun with people. Then she saw Colossal heading for Alya, who was trying to film the action and run at the same time. "Alya!"

Just as Colossal fired at her friend, Marinette threw Alya to the side, but the blast nicked her arm, and she felt herself grow small.

"Marinette! Are you okay?" Alya started to panic, picking her up off the ground. Marinette stood, a little shakily, on Alya's palm.

"I'm fine! Just get out of here!" Marinette pleaded, but Colossal landed right behind them. Marinette bit her lip. Tikki had somehow shrunk with her. What could a tiny ladybug-sized Ladybug do?

Colossal pointed the action figure at them, and Alya's eyes widened, but then the pair heard, "You little shit!"

A black blur flew through the air and hit Colossal, who went flying across the park. Standing there was Chat Noir. Marinette groaned inwardly.

"Don't swear in front of the kids!"

Chat turned at the sound of the rebuke. He looked, puzzled, at Alya, then his eyes landed on Marinette. His eyes grew to the size of tennis balls. "Marinette?"

He leapt over and plucked her from Alya's hand. Alya whipped out her phone. "Chat Noir! Please let me interview you!"

"I-" he began, but was cut off by the sound of a blast. He narrowly avoided Colossal's attack. "Maybe in a bit! Get out of here, I'll watch your friend!"

Alya, for once, actually obeyed, seeming to realize the danger when several stray blasts almost hit her. "Watch Marinette!" she yelled as she sprinted away. Colossal didn't look as she fled.

"I need your toy!" Colossal screeched, pointing at Chat's ring. Chat began to grumble, hearing that.

"Focus! We've got to get that action figure. I'm sure that's where the akuma is," Marinette told him. He had his hand clasped firmly around her from her belly to her knees.

He raised an eyebrow. "You sound like someone I know. But since she's not here, you'll be my Ladybug for now!"

Marinette gulped, then frantically made sure her bag was hanging outside of Chat's grip so Tikki wasn't crushed.

"You're even ladybug-sized!" Chat laughed as he drew out his baton. Marinette clung to Chat's finger. She squeezed her eyes shut as the two fought, Colossal still trying to hit Chat, and Chat dodging and aiming for the action figure with his baton. Then Marinette had an idea.

"Chat!"

"What?" he grunted, jumping to avoid another blast.

"Throw me at him!"

"What?! No!"

"Just do it! I can get the action figure out of his hands!"

"But only Ladybug can purify the akuma and turn you all back to normal! And I don't know where she is!" Chat argued, his grip on her growing tighter. "I won't risk you."

Marinette took a deep breath. "Even if Ladybug's not here, you can break the object holding the akuma, right? It'll escape, but Felix should return to normal, and since the magic's gone, so should I!"

Chat considered that. "But what about the akuma?"

Marinette shrugged, but inwardly she planned to follow after it once the spell was broken and Chat left.

"I don't want to put you in danger," Chat growled, his grip tightening again. "It's my job to defeat him."

"Then why did you grab me from Alya in the first place?" Marinette grumped, but she could've sworn Chat's cheeks went pink.

"Maybe I wanted to talk to you. But since you're fun-sized, I didn't wanna lose track of you. Damn, this kid won't stop!"

"Throw me!" Marinette demanded.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No way in hell!"

"Just do it!"

"Dammit!" Chat yelled as he hurled her toward the villain. Marinette hit the action figure squarely, and hanging on for dear life, she bit Colossal as hard as she could.

"Owie!" Colossal cried as he released the toy. Chat's baton crashed down on it in an instant, breaking it and setting the akuma free to flutter away. Chat watched it in disgust for a moment before dropping the baton and flying over to where Felix had fallen to his knees, dizzy, and where Marinette had fallen on the ground.

Bright light glowed around her, and as Chat knelt beside her she grew back to normal size.

Marinette opened her eyes. She was dizzy and disoriented, but okay. Her view was met with Chat's worried gaze. "Are you okay, Princess?"

"Yes," she replied immediately, then sat up, and nearly blacked out. She held her head, and she felt two hands steady her by grabbing her shoulders.

"No, you're not," Chat said, biting his lip. "Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have thrown you! I should've waited for Ladybug."

"No, it's fine," Marinette insisted. "It was my idea, anyway. And you defeated Colossal."

"Thanks to you, Princess," he replied, and the look he gave her made Marinette's ears go red. "Come on, I'll take you home."

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 **Here's the next chapter! I hope you liked it. This is a part one of the next chapter, I guess. The next chapter will continue from this point in the story. Chat's gotta be a gentleman. (With a dirty mouth.)**

 **Tell me what you think! Please drop a review!**

 **I'll update as fast as I can!**

 **Bye now.**


	3. Compassion with a Cat

Marinette was uncharacteristically quiet.

Chat had taken her home, and now he was sitting there, watching her intently as she applied an ice pack to her head, where she'd been knocked against Colossal's toy. Swallowing, she avoided Chat's intense stare, preferring to stare out the window at the darkening sky.

Alya had already texted her a thousand times, and Marinette had told her she was alright and asked her to please, please not come visit. She already had a splitting headache, and she really didn't want to explain Chat's presence in her bedroom. The cat refused to leave.

"How's your head?" Chat asked, shattering the silence. Marinette still didn't quite meet his gaze as she answered.

"It's fine, really. I've had worse scraps."

It was meant to be a joke, but Chat's eyes flattened and Marinette fidgeted.

"Really, Chat, I'm okay. You don't need to-"

She was cut off when Chat suddenly leapt forward and threw his arms around her. His face was hidden in her shoulder, and his hands gripped her back. He was still careful not to touch her with his claws. "Chat?"

"Why don't you take care of yourself?" he asked, not releasing her. "Can't you just admit you're hurt and let me help? It's not just about my feelings, Marinette, it's about your health!"

She was rendered speechless. She had no idea Chat was so concerned about her well-being.

He withdrew, as if suddenly realizing what he'd done, and sat down, now looking tired. "I mean...even if it isn't that bad, you need to take care of yourself, Princess."

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, blinking. "I just didn't want you to blame yourself. It isn't your fault."

He gave her a wan smile. "I appreciate that, Princess, but it doesn't matter who's fault it is until you're not in pain anymore."

"I just have a headache, I promise."

"Okay."

The silence was more comfortable this time, and she grinned at the cat. "Still, it was pretty fun to help you," she joked.

"Yeah, I wonder where Ladybug was, though?" Chat's expression shifted from tired to thoughtful. "It's not like her to miss a battle."

"She was caught up, I suppose," Marinette murmured, trying to sound disinterested. The last thing she needed was Chat probing into Ladybug's schedule.

"Well, unless you need anything else, Princess, I'd better take my leave. Even cats have responsibilities." Chat rose, striding over to her and bending down. "How about a good luck kiss for the road?" he smiled cheekily.

Marinette laughed, pushing him away. "Go home, kitty."

"Worth a shot," he grinned, before swinging away, leaving a thoughtful and slightly embarrassed Marinette.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day at school, Mariette found it difficult to pay attention. Her headache had returned with a vengeance, and it got to the point where any noise left her head splitting. Alya was sympathetic and gave Marinette earplugs, but they did little to lessen the ache.

To her surprise, Adrien approached her after school had let out. She took a nervous step back, and frowned in confusion when Adrien's mouth moved, but no sound came out.

Adrien motioned to her ears, and with her cheeks flushed, she removed the earplugs. She wanted to disappear already.

"I wanted to know how you were feeling, Marinette," he asked, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He was chewing on his lower lip, and she blinked, surprised.

"Oh. Um, good? You're great. I mean, I'm great. Fine, I'm fine," she stammered, going rigid.

"I...see." Adrien almost seemed...disappointed? "I just...thought I'd check. Glad to hear it." He gave her a smile.

Her face rivaled a cherry. "Th-thanks, Adrien."

"I heard you helped Chat Noir." He suddenly looked very serious. "What do you think of him?"

"Chat?" Again, she was caught off-guard. "He's…"

Adrien watched her eagerly, and she finally puffed out the first thing that came to her mind.

"I like him. He's considerate."

Adrien's face twitched, and she wondered if she'd said something wrong. Worry stirred in her chest. But before she could blurt out anything else, Adrien was waving, bidding her goodbye.

Marinette walked away, dumbfounded. She couldn't know that a certain blonde boy was fist-pumping the air right then, mouthing: "She likes me!"

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 **Hey guys! So...long time, no see. I am so sorry. I just started college, and had no internet access over the summer. But I'm really trying! This is something I made to apologize. I'll try to update more often.**

 **How do you like the story? Is it progressing okay? Adrienette is my second-favorite after MariChat, so I added some in. I hope you liked it.**

 **Please review! It means a lot!**

 **Bye now.**


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